Washing apparatus



April 29, 1969 J. w. m

WASHING APPARATUS Sheet of 2 Filed June 28, i967 INVENTORS James W. PaceW X) y; ATTORNEYS April 29, 1969 y J. w. PACE 3,440,342

WASHING APPARATUS Filed June 28, 1967 Sheet 5 of 2 INVENTORS James W.Pace 5% W m romazavs United States Patent Office 3,440,842 WASHINGAPPARATUS James W. Pace, 644 E. Arawe Circle, Irving, Tex. 75060 FiledJune 28, 1967, Ser. No. 649,642 Int. Cl. .D06f 31/00, 37/04 US. Cl. 68-98 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a Washingapparatus and more particularly to a washing apparatus having a pair offoraminous belts for transporting material past nozzle assemblies whichdirect sprays of wash and rinse liquids at the material.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved washingapparatus having a pair of foraminous belts for transporting materialtherebetween past nozzle assemblies which direct sprays of wash andrinse liquids at the belts and the material carried thereby, and supportmeans at the locations of impingment of the jet sprays on the belts forholding the belts and the material carried thereby against movement awayfrom the nozzle assemblies.

Another object is to provide a washing apparatus wherein, the supportmeans comprise rollers having perforate outer members which permit flowof the jet stream liquids through the belts and the material into theinterior of the rollers and thus prevent wrinkling of the pieces ofmaterial which could otherwise occur if the belts were free to move atthe location of impingement of the jet sprays relative to the nozzleassemblies and reltaive to one another.

Still another obpect of the invention is to provide a washing apparatuswherein the perforate outer members of the support rollers preventsplashing of the liquid after it has passed through the transport beltsand the materials being carried therepast.

A further object is to provide a new and improved support roller whichprovides a rigid support for the belts and materials being movedtherepast and which as cylindrical chamber for receiving the highvelocity liquid of the jet stream after it has passed through the beltsand material and decreasing its velocity to prevent undue splashing ofthe liquids in the washing apparatus.

A still further object is to provide a new and improved support rollerhaving a central longitudinal inner support member and an outerperforate cylindrical member concentric with and spaced from the innermember and providing therewith a cylindrical chamber in which isreceived liquid which passes through the outer member.

Another object is to provide a support roller having means fortransferring the substantially radial loads imposed on the outerperforate cylinder by the jet stream to the inner support member atlongitudinally spaced locations spaced on opposite sides of the midpoint of the outer member in order to minimize outward bowing ordeflection of the outer member intermediate its ends.

Still another object is to provide a support roller wherein the outermember is formed of sections and its 3,440,842 Patented Apr. 29, 1969apertures comprise to percent of the total area of the outer member.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readilyapparent from the reading of the following description of a deviceconstructed in accordance with the invention, and reference to theaccompanying drawings thereof wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a washing apparatus embodyingthe invention;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic view illustrating the displacement of thematerial and one of the belts when the belts are supported at spacedlocations by support rollers and the jet stream is directed at the beltsand material at a location between the two suppor members;

FIGURE 3 is an end view, with some parts broken away, of a supportroller and nozzle assembly embodying the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a reduced plan view of a support roller embodying theinvention;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view, with some parts broken away,of a nozzle assembly and its support roller;

FIGURE 7 is an exploded view of a support roller embodying theinvention; and,

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the sections of theouter member of the support roller.

The washing apparatus 30 embodying the invention includes a pair ofcontinuous foraminous belts 31 and 32 for transporting materials througha wash tank 33 and rinse tanks 34 and 35. The materials such as sheets,towels, and the like, are of course, washed during their passage throughthe washing apparatus. The belts have closed paths of movement includingportions parallel and adjacent one another which extend forwardly from aroller 37 so the material to be washed is held in a fiat conditionbetween the belts in a predetermined portion of their paths of movementthrough the wash and rinse tanks. The wash tank 33 is filled with asuitable wash liquid such as hot water having active agents such as analkali, a detergent, a bleaching agent, and the like in solutiontherein.

Prior to the movement of the material into the wash liquid, it movespast the direction changing rollers 37a and 37b and is then subjected totransverse jet streams of the wash liquid from a pair of jet streamforming nozzle assemblies 38 and 39 positioned in vertically spacedrelation to one another and on opposite sides of the pair of belts inthe upper portion of the wash tank above the wash liquid containedtherein. The jet stream produced by the nozzle assembly 38 which extendstransversely the full width of the belts is directed at the belts at thelocation of tangential contact of the belt 32, with a rotatable supportroller 40 embodying the invention, and similarly, the jet stream fromthe nozzle assembly 39 is directed at the belts at the location oftangential contact of the belt 31 with a support roller 42. The supportrollers hold the belts and the material carried thereby a predetermineddistance from and against movement away from the nozzle assemblies inorder to insure that the jet streams impinge with optimum force on thematerial carried between the belts, and at the same time permit the Washliquid to flow through the belts and the material carried thereby andinto the rollers as will be explained below.

A plurality of guide or direction changing rollers 48, 49, 59, 51 and 52extend transversely through the wash tank to guide the movement of thebelts through the wash liquid in the tank below and between the nozzleassemblies 38 and 39 and a second pair of nozzle assemblies 53 and 54which are identical in structure to the nozzle assemblies 38 and 39. Thenozzle assembly 53 directs transverse jet stream of the wash liquid atthe belts at the location tangential contact of the belt 31 with asupport roller and the transverse jet stream from the nozzle assembly 54is directed at the belt at the location of tangential control of thebelt 32 with a support roller 57.

The wash liquid may be continuously circulated from the wash tank to thenozzle assemblies 38 and 39 by means of a conduit in which is connecteda pump 61, one end of the conduit being connected to a manifold 62 whichopens to the interior of the tank and its branch conduits 63 and 64being connected to the nozzle assemblies 38 and 39, respectively. Thepump may be driven by an electric motor 68. The wash solution or liquidis similarly pumped from the manifold to the nozzle assemblies 53 and 54through a conduit 72 having a pump 73 mounted therein and having branchducts 74 and 75 connected to the nozzle assemblies 53 and 54. The pumpis driven by a motor 76.

The wash solution may be circulated continuously through a filter by asuitable conduit means 91 in which a pump 92, driven by a motor 95, isconnected and the active agent of the wash solution may be added to thewash solution from a supply reservior through a conduit 101 which isconnected to the conduit means 91. An overflow conduit is provided topermit excess wash liquid to fiow from the tank to a suitable disposalpoint. The wash liquid may be heated by suitable heating means 112.

The belts upon leaving the wash tank 33 pass through a first wringerassembly 113, which includes rollers 114 and 115, the wringer assemblysqueezing out excess wash liquid from the belts and the material beingcarried thereby and causing it to flow back into the wash tank 33 beforethe belts and the material carried thereby move into the first rinsetank 34. After passing through the wringer assembly, the belts and thematerial carried therebetween move over a direction changing roller 123,past a nozzle assembly which directs a jet stream of rinse liquid fromthe tank 34 onto the belts at the location of tangential contact of thebelt 31 with a support roller 126, past a direction changing roller 128,and then past a nozzle assembly 129 which directs a jet spray of therinse liquid onto the belts and the material carried thereby at thelocation of contact of the belt 32 with a support roller 130. The beltsthen move through the wringer assembly 131, which includes 133 and 134which compress the belts and the material carried therebetween to removeexcess rinse liquid and cause it to flow back into the first rinse tankbefore the belts move to the second rinse tank 35. A rinse liquid iscirculated from the first rinse tank 34 to the nozzle assemblies 125 andby means of conduit 135 which has a pump 136 connected therein anddriven by an electric motor 137, one end of the conduit opening to thefirst rinse tank and its other end having branch conduits 138 and 139which are connected to the nozzle assemblies 125 and 130. After movingthrough the wringer assembly 131, the belts and the material carriedthereby are moved over a direction changing roller 140, past a nozzleassembly 142 which directs a jet stream of the rinse liquid from thesecond rinse tank at the belts at the location of tangential contact ofthe belt 31 with a support roller 143 carried thereby, then about adirection changing roller 145, past a second nozzle assembly 147 whichdirects a jet stream of the rinse liquid from the second rinse tank atthe belts at the location of tangential contact of the belt 32 with asupport roller 148 and then through a third wringer assembly 150 whichincludes wringer rollers 151 and 152. The rinse liquid from the secondrinse tank is circulated to the nozzle assemblies 142 and 148 through aconduit 155 having a pump 156 connected therein which is driven by anelectric motor 157. One end of the conduit communicates with the rinsetank 35 adjacent the lower end thereof and its opposite end has conduits158 and 159 which are connected to the nozzle assemblies 142 and 148respectively.

The washing apparatus may have suitable sensing means, such as means160, which senses a desired characteristic of the rinse solution, suchas its pH, and which may control the operation of a pump 162 whichcauses suitable chemical agent to be introduced from a reservior 163 tothe first rinse tank. The water is introduced as needed into the secondrinse tank through a supply conduit means 165 which may pass through aheat exchanger 165a and a heater 165b. The water flows through thesecond rinse tank 35 to the first rinse tank through a passage orconduit 166 and is removed from the first rinse tank through an exhaustconduit 167 having a pump 168 connected therein and driven by anelectric motor 169. I

The conduit 167 extends through the heat exchanger 165a so that some ofthe heat from the exhaust water may be transferred to the fresh waterflowing in the conduit means 165.

The rinse solution from the first and second tanks may be circulatedthrough a suitable filter 170a by means of suitable conduit means 170];which has a pump 1700 connected therein driven by an electric motor170d.

Upon moving through the last wringer assembly 150 which removes excessrinse liquid from the material and the belts as they move from thesecond rinse tank, the conveyor belts 31 and 32 then moves forwardly andabout a driver roller 171 which moves the lower belt and is driven by asuitable drive means, not shown, through a stripper assembly 127 andthen past direction changing rollers 173, 174, 175, 176, 177 and 178 tothe roller 37. The upper belt moves from the direction changing roller170 upwardly and forwardly past a stripper assembly 180, a drive roller181 which moves the upper belt and is driven by a suitable drive means,and then forwardly past a tensioning roller 182 and the directionchanging rollers 183 and 184 back to the first direction changing roller37. The stripper assemblies have bristles which move through theapertures of the foraminous belts to ensure that the material isstripped from the bottom and top belts and is then moved by and betweenthe take-off rollers 186 and 187 to a delivery conveyor 188 which maythen move the washed material through a dryer 190.

The exact structure and mode of operation of the means for moving theforaminous belts 31 and 32 in the above described paths of movementthrough the wash and rinse tanks and the three wringer assemblies, ofthe nozzle assemblies, of the wringer assemblies and of the means forcirculating the wash and rinse liquids to their appropriate nozzleassemblies, since these means are not a pair of the present invention,will not be further described herein.

Each nozzle assembly, as illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 6 which show thenozzle assembly 38, includes a nozzle pipe or manifold 200 which extendstransversely through the wash tank and which is mounted by any suitablemeans, such as on a channel bracket 201 whose opposite ends may berigidly secured, as by welding, to the opposite end walls of the tank.The end of the nozzle pipe remote from the end through which the washliquid is introduced into the nozzle pipe is connected is closed so thatthe wash liquid introduced under pressure into the nozzle pipe at oneend thereof must flow outwardly therefrom through the plurality ofnozzles 202, secured by any suitable means to the nozzle pipe, whichopen into the interior of the nozzle pipe. The jets from the nozzlesoverlap and direct a substantially solid jet stream of the Wash liquidsubstantially perpendicularly to the belts at the location of theimpingement of the jet stream on the belts. The jet stream at thelocaion of impingement is of narrow width and extends substantially thefull width of the belts. The velocity of the jets of liquid deliveredfrom the nozzles is relatively great, for example, approximately 900inches per second, and the discharge ends of the nozzles are close tothe belts, for example only an inch and one-half away therefrom. As aresult, the jet stream impinging on the belts exerts a substantial forceon the belts and the material carried thereby which tends to move thebelts away from the nozzles. The belts themselves are being moved at asubstantial speed, for example 100 feet per minute. The force tending tomove the belt remote from the nozzles increase as a piece of material iscarried by the belts past such nozzles since the material is less porousthan the belts and oflfers considerably more resistance to the passageof liquid theret-hrough than either of the belts. If such jet streamwere directed at the belts, as illustrated in FIGURE 2 at a locationbetween a pair of support means such as the support rollers 205 and 206,which are spaced too far apart, thebifectiveness of the jet stream,whether it be of wash liquid or rinse liquid, is decreased due to thefact that the farther away the material is from the nozzles of thenozzle assembly, the smaller is the velocity of the jetpstream at thelocation of its impingement on the material and the greater is thedispersion of the jet stream into'droplets.

In addition, the portions of material and the belt remote from thenozzle assembly between the support rollers are moved by the jet streamaway from the belt near the nozzle assembly and as these portions areagain moved into engagement with the near belt the material tends towrinkle. Moreover, as the front or leading edge of a piece of materialor cloth moves with the belts past the location of the roller 205, theliquid striking such leading edge tends to move the leading edge of thematerial upwardly between the belts and as the rear of trailing endmoves past the jet stream, the force of the jet stream tends to move thetrailing edge of such piece of material downwardly between the belts andcauses it to Wrinkle. As described in our co-pending application, thespacing between supports may be made much smaller by substituting slideplates instead of rollers 205 and 206 but, since the belts are movingwith a relatively high speed for example 100 feet per second, thefrictional drag may become very great and may actually cause the beltsto slip relative to their drive rollers.

If a solid support roller is provided for the belts at the location ofimpingement of a jet stream from a nozzle assembly, as in the case ofthe apparatus described in the patent to H. H. Woodworth In, No.3,163,030, the jet stream cannot pass completely through the belts sincesuch roller prevents a barrier to the flow of the liquid and portions ofthe jet stream are deflected perpendicularly to the direction of theirmovement from the nozzle assembly and tend to wrinkle the leading andtrailing edges of each piece of material as it is moved past suchbarrier support roller.

The support rollers embodying the invention used in the washingapparatus embodying the invention support the belts and the materialcarried thereby against movement away from each nozzle assembly, preventwrinkling of the forward and rear leading and trailing edges of thepieces of material as they pass through each jet stream, and alsominimize the splashing of the liquid after it has passed through thebelts and the material. Each of the support rollers includes an innerlongitudinal support means or member 209 having a cylindrical member 210and end shafts 211 and 212 whose discs 214 are telescoped in oppositeends of the cylindrical member and are rigidly secured thereto as bywelding. The end shafts project outwardly of the cylindrical member andare secured by suitable pillow blocks or bearings for free rotation andare rotated by the belts engaged thereby as they move past and inengagement with the rollers.

The roller includes an outer perforate cylindrical member 215 whichincludes a pair of end sections 217 and 21 8 and a middle section 219.The end section 217 includes a cylinder 220 having an outer internal endflange or ring 221 and an inner flange or ring 222 of smaller width thanthe end flange 221. The end flange 221 has a reinforcing outer ring 225welded thereto. Inner portions of the end flange 221 and of thereinforcing ring 225 overlap the disc 214 of the end shaft 211 and arerigidly secured thereto by bolts 227 which extend through alignedapertures in the reinforcing ring and the end flange into threaded bores228 in the end disc. Washers 229 may be interposed between the heads ofthe bolts and the outer flange. The inner internal annular flange 222 ofthe cylinder 220 has an inner surface 230 which engages the outersurface of the inner cylinder 210 so that it supports the inner end ofthe cylinder 220 against inward movement. The inner end flange has aplurality of aligning pins 231 whose purpose will be described below.

The cylinder is provided through its full area with a plurality ofspaced apertures 234 which open to the cylindrical chamber or passage235g of the roller defined by the inner member 210, the cylinder 220 andthe end flanges 221 and 222. Preferably, the apertures are in astaggered alignment and take up between 40 and 60% of the total area ofthe cylinder. For example, the apertures may constitute 50% area of theouter cylinder if the apertures or holes are .075 inch holes on .100inch center spacing. The end section 218 is identical in structure tothe end section 217 and, accordingly, its elements have been providedwith the same reference characters, to which the numeral subscript a hasbeen added, as the corresponding elements of the end section 217.

The middle section 219 of the outer cylindrical member includes acylinder 240 provided at opposite ends with inner flanges or rings 241and 243 which are provided with apertures 244 and 245, respectively, inwhich are received the aligning pins 231 and 231a, respectively, of theend sections 217 and 218. The cylinder 240 is of the same dimensions asthe cylinders 220 and 220a and is also provided with the apertures 245in the same manner as the cylinders of the end sections. The end flangesor rings 241 and 243 are slidable on the inner cylinder 210 so that themiddle section 219 is also supported in spaced relation to the innercylinder or member 210 of the roller and defines therewith a cylindricalchamber 235]) to which the apertures open.

The outer cylindrical member may be assembled on the inner supportmember 209 by telescoping one of the end sections, for example, the endsection 217, over one end of the inner member and then securing it tothe inner member by means of the bolts 227. The middle section is thentelescoped over the other end of the inner member, the aligning pins 241entering into the apertures 244 of the end flange 241 to hold one end ofthe middle cylinder section against rotation relative to the end section217. The other end section 218 is then telescoped over such other end ofthe inner support member with its aligning pins 241a being received inthe apertures 245 of the end ring 243 and is then secured to the innermember by the bolts 227a.

The internal flanges or rings of the end and middle sections of theouter member engages the inner member and transfer the load imposedradially inwardly on the outer cylinder member to the inner member atlongitudinally spaced locations therealong which are spaced from themid-point of the inner roller to minimize the outward deflection orbending of the support roller as the material is transported by thebelts moving therepast and is forced thereagainst by a jet stream. Theloads imposed on the central or middle cylinder section 240 aretransferred to the inner member at locations spaced from the mid-pointof the inner cylinder.

The longitudinal annular or cylindrical chamber of the roller formed ofthe chambers 235a, 235b and 2350 between the inner and outer members isof substantial radial width, for example, if the external diameter ofthe inner cylinder is approximately three inches, the outer cylinder ismade approximately six inches in diameter so that the radial Width ofsuch cylinder will be approximately one and one-half inches.

The other support rollers of the washing apparatus which support thebelts and material against movement away from the other nozzleassemblies are identical in structure to the support roller 40.

In use, the jet stream of the wash and rinse liquids delivered by anozzle assembly passes through the belts and the material being carriedthereby and then through the perforations of the cylinders of the threesections of the outer member and in flowing into the cylindricalchamber, the velocity thereof is dissipated and the energy absorbedtherefrom as it strikes the surfaces of the roller defining the chamber.Since the jet stream is directed substantially perpendicularly to thecentral longitudinal axis, it cannot pass directly through the rollersince the inner cylinder 210 is interposed in the path of movement ofthe liquid. The jet stream of liquid once it passes through the beltsand material instead of traveling further at high velocity to splashagainst other structures of the apparatus flows to the lowermostportions of the chamber and then flows downwardly outwardly through theperforations of the outer cylindrical member by gravity.

Since the belts are held against movement away from the nozzles of thenozzle assembly at the location of substantially tangential contact ofone of the belts 31 and 32 remote from the nozzles of a nozzle assemblywhich direct a jet stream at the other of the belts at the location ofsuch contact, and since the liquid after passing through the belts andthe material passes through the apertures of the outer member into thecylindrical chamber, the leading trailing edges of each piece ofmaterial do not tend to wrinkle as would occur if the outer cylindricalchamber were not perforated. If the outer cylindrical chamber were notperforated, the liquid in the jet stream would not move outwardlythrough the remote belt but would tend to flow upwardly and downwardlybetween the belts thus cause the leading and trailing edges of thematerial to be wrinkled.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for washing material including: a wash tank; a rinsetank; a pair of foraminous belts for moving pieces of material in a flatcondition therebetween sequentially'through said wash tank and saidrinse tank and below the normal top level to which each tank is fillablewith liquid; a nozzle means disposed in each of said tanks above the topliquid level of the tank; means for circulating a wash liquid in saidwash tank to the nozzle means in said wash tank for directing atransverse jet stream of the wash liquid from the wash tanksubstantially perpendicularly at said belts, said rinse tank havingmeans for circulating rinse liquid from the rinse tank to the nozzlemeans in said rinse tank for directing a transverse jet stream of rinsesolution substantially perpendicularly at said belts; and support meansin said wash and rinse tanks for holding said belts against movementaway from said nozzle means at the locations of impingement of jetstreams from the nozzle means with the belts and the material beingtransported thereby, said support means 8 each comprising a rotatableroller engageable by the bel remote from its associated nozzle assembly,said support roller being perforate to receive the liquids of the jetstreams after they have moved through the belts and the material beingtransported thereby.

2. The washing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said support rollerincludes an outer perforate cylindrical member having perforations whosecombined total orifice comprises between forty and sixty percent of thetotal area of the outer cylindrical member.

3. The washing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said support rollerincludes an inner longitudinal member and an outer perforate cylindricalmember concentric with and spaced from said inner member, said inner andouter members providing a cylindrical chamber in which is receivedliquid which passes through the belts and the material carried thereby.

4. The washing apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of said supportrollers has means for transferring the loads imposed on said outermember to said inner member at longitudinally spaced locations spacedfrom and on opposite sides of the middle of said outer member.

5. The washing apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of said supportrollers includes an inner tubular member having end shafts extendingoutwardly therefrom from opposite ends thereof; an outer perforatecylindrical member concentric with and spaced from said tubular member;and means rigidly securing said outer cylindrical member to said innermember.

6. The washing apparatus of claim 5, wherein said outer member includesa pair of end sections telescopical over opposite end portions of saidinner member and a middle section disposed on said inner member betweensaid end sections.

7. The washing apparatus of claim 6, wherein said middle section andsaid end sections have co-engageable means for securing said middlesections against movement relative to said end section.

8. The washing apparatus of claim 7, wherein each of said sectionsincludes a perforate cylinder having-internal annular flanges adjacentits ends engageable with said inner member for transferring loadsimposed on said cylinders to said inner member at longitudinally spacedlocations.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,185,766 6/1916 Brunger 68-442,530,494 11/1950 Vigerust 68-44 X 3,163,030 12/1964 Woodworth 68-2053,205,686 9/1965 Norton 68-62 X WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

